In computing and telecommunication, a control character or non-printing character is a code point (a number) in a character set, that does not in itself represent a written symbol. It is in-band signaling in the context of character encoding. All entries in the ASCII table below code 32 (technically the C0 control code set) and 127 are of this kind, including BEL (which is intended to cause an audible signal in the receiving terminal), SYN (which is a synchronization signal), and ENQ (a signal that is intended to trigger a response at the receiving end, to see if it is still present). The Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC) character set contains 65 control codes, including all of the ASCII control codes as well as additional codes which are mostly used to control IBM peripherals. Unicode makes a distinction between Control characters (C0 and C1 control codes) versus Formatting characters (such as the Zero-width non-joiner).
Other characters are mainly printing, printable, or graphic characters, except perhaps for the "space" character (see ASCII printable characters).
| 0x00 | 0x10 | |
|---|---|---|
| 0x00 | NUL | DLE |
| 0x01 | SOH | DC1 |
| 0x02 | STX | DC2 |
| 0x03 | ETX | DC3 |
| 0x04 | EOT | DC4 |
| 0x05 | ENQ | NAK |
| 0x06 | ACK | SYN |
| 0x07 | BEL | ETB |
| 0x08 | BS | CAN |
| 0x09 | TAB | EM |
| 0x0A | LF | SUB |
| 0x0B | VT | ESC |
| 0x0C | FF | FS |
| 0x0D | CR | GS |
| 0x0E | SO | RS |
| 0x0F | SI | US |
| 0x7F | DEL |
Read more about Control Character: History, In ASCII, In Unicode, Display, How Control Characters Map To Keyboards, The Design Purpose
Famous quotes containing the words control and/or character:
“Just as men must give up economic control when their wives share the responsibility for the family’s financial well-being, women must give up exclusive parental control when their husbands assume more responsibility for child care.”
—Augustus Y. Napier (20th century)
“There is no character, howsoever good and fine, but it can be destroyed by ridicule, howsoever poor and witless. Observe the ass, for instance: his character is about perfect, he is the choicest spirit among all the humbler animals, yet see what ridicule has brought him to. Instead of feeling complimented when we are called an ass, we are left in doubt.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)